Kol Kramers II Issue 4.pub

November 25, 2005 

Hadlokas Neiros 

A 

nd the years of Sarah 

were one hundred years, 

twenty years, and seven 

years; the years of Sarah’s life”. 

This קוספ which begins the 

description of Sarah’s death and 

subsequent burial is dissected at 

length by the commentators with 

every word and nuance plumbed 

for its hidden meaning. One of the 

most glaring problems is the apparently 

redundant “years of 

Sarah” – why does the Torah repeat 

the phrase? Every word and 

letter in the Torah is measured, 

even the way the letters are written 

are fertile ground for exegetical 

purposes. What idea is hidden 

in this apparently redundant 

phrase? 

It isn’t coincidental that 

Sarah’s death follows the Akeida. 

Rash”i cites a medrash that Sarah 

didn’t know about the Akeida. An 

angel came to tell her about the 

fact that her son had been offered 

ד “ סב 

Jerusalem 3:56 Lakewood 4:16 Los Angeles 4:27 

Monsey 4:13 St. Louis 4:24 Baltimore 4:28 

up as a sacrifice and before the 

angel could inform her that all 

was okay, the sheer shock caused 

her soul to depart. Thus, it would 

appear that as a result of the 

events that took place, Sarah 

passed away. 

R’ Yaakov Kamenetsky 

explains that this is not so. In reality, 

Sarah’s preordained time had 

come and even had there been no 

Akeida, she still would have died. 

This is what the Torah is emphasizing 

by repeating “the years of 

her life” – to show that these were 

her full years. So what happened 

when she was informed by the 

angel? 

The Akeida was a monumental 

occasion, with long-lasting 

results that are still protecting us. 

Avrohom (and to a large extant, 

Yitzchok as well) reached the pinnacle 

of his greatness. He had 

shown that he was willing to risk 

everything in order to fulfill the 

will of Hashem. It was a defining 

moment in the formulation of the 

genetic make-up of the souls of 

our nation (as we mention in KK 

Vol. II, #2 – Parshas Lech Lecha). 

Kol Kramers Volume II Issue 4 

Welcome to the fourth issue of KOL KRAMERS volume II, the newsletter that helps all current, former, & 

honorary Kramers, stay even more in touch with each other than we do already. 

Parshas 

Chayei Sara 

This page of KOL KRAMERS contains Divrei 

Torah and should be not be discarded as trash . 

It is something that serves as an 

example of what every Jew can 

accomplish. 

Yet, in one stroke, the רצי 

ערה tries to take it all away from 

us. By relating the death of Sarah 

to the Akeida, he attempts to create 

in the minds of all onlookers a 

sense of regret, or at the very least 

cause a ' ה לו ליח by making us 

think that Avrohom’s greatest 

sacrifice is repaid by ' ה with the 

death of his wife. This is the 

mindset that the Torah is dispelling 

by telling us that Sarah lived 

her full years. 

Very frequently, we will 

triumph in our own trials and vanquish 

our ערה רצי. Seeing that he 

lost the battle, the ערה רצי will try 

to cause us to regret the victory 

by making it seem that we have 

lost something as a result. It is a 

powerful weapon in his arsenal, 

but we have to realize that ' ה is a 

righteous judge, and that while we 

may have to suffer to perform 

mitzvos, we will never suffer as a 

result of our mitzvos. 

Ah Gutten Shabbos

M 

azal Tov to good friends 

Sylvia and Ben-Zion 

Heyman upon the engagement 

of Daniel Meir to 

Chani Fuchs of Brooklyn! 

(The Heymans are, of course— as 

charter members of the Martel 

Cartel— close personal friends of 

Klony Kellner’s Shver and 

Shvigger, R’ Alter and Shira 

Shapiro.) 

Kayla and JJ: Daniel Meir feels 

awful that he was unable to reach 

you by phone to tell you the news 

himself . 

Dr. Ben-Zion Heyman would 

also like the KOL KRAMERS 

readership to know that he is a big 

fan of: 

“Best of Health with Bootsy” 

This Shabbos we are all celebrating the 24th 

Hebrew birthday of 

Kol Kramers’ Number #1 Fan: 

Klony Kellner 

of Klony and Gitty fame! 

and that he some- Mazal Tov and many happy returns of the day! 

times prints out her 

columns for his chiropractic patients! 

News Flash! This just in from 

our correspondent in Monsey— 

the first snow of the season! And 

just in time for Beej to dust off his 

car and drive his boychiks over 

the river and thru the woods to 

MLJ’s house... 

Kramer Chronicles 

A Special Announcement 

from Kol Kramers’ 

official archivist, BJ, appears in this week’s 

“Computer Tips from BJ” 

Check out page 15 of this week’s issue 

to find out how you can now download higher 

quality photos from KOL KRAMERS, 

suitable for printing! 

Yippee! 

http://www.ouradio.org/index.php/shabbat_shalom/article/2349/ 

Cousin Jeffrey Berg sent in the link above to a story about Malkiel 

Lerner, the son of Cousins Sue and Joel, and Aunt Thecla’s (a”h) 

grandson. Click on the link to read about the wonderful work he is 

doing visiting victims of terror in Eretz Yisrael! 

Kol Kramers Volume II Issue 4 Page 2

Travels With Tatty: 

W 

e all enjoy reading Kol Kramers, 

but it is time to do something 

about the tag line: 

“Welcome to the nth issue of KOL 

KRAMERS, Volume # x, the newsletter 

that helps all current, former, and honorary 

Kramers, stay even more in touch with 

each other than we do already.” 

There are clearly a number of grammatical, 

syntactical, and structural problems with 

this sentence. So, being a professional consultant 

(no, I won’t insult you), I’ve taken 

it upon myself to fix this problem. Now, 

under normal circumstances this would 

cost a lot of money. Even with the family 

discount. But, given this is Kol Kramers 

we’re talking about, I’m waiving all fees! 

My team (you didn’t think I was going to 

do this alone, did you?) met and evaluated 

the sentence and articulated the following 

problems: 

First and foremost, the clause “stay even 

more in touch with each other than we do 

already” is clearly flawed. We don’t “do” 

in touch, we “are” in touch and therefore, 

the clause should read “stay even more in 

touch with each other than we are already” 

or perhaps, ” stay even more in touch with 

each other than we already are”. Because 

of the inherent ambiguity of being in touch 

(what does it really mean to be in touch?) 

and because the “do” could, possibly, be 

interpreted to be acting upon the “stay” – 

as in “we do stay in touch” – which we 

could “do”, the team felt strongly that 

modifications here were in order. Further, 

the team questioned the very essence of the 

secondary clause “than we do already”. 

What if we don’t? What about those readers 

who opt out? Who don’t stay in touch? 

How can we simply assume that “we do 

already”? The team, therefore, recommends 

the following modification to the 

clause: 

“…stay even more in direct formal and 

informal communications through various 

media forms including, but not limited to, 

written, oral and electronic means, with 

each other than we have in the past, done, 

do presently and plan to do in the foreseeable 

future, those of us not in touch, notwithstanding.” 

Obviously an improvement. But other 

problems were pointed out by the auxiliary 

task force (you didn’t think that one team 

alone could do this, did you?). 

The clause “the newsletter that helps” is 

deeply flawed. Kol Kramers is not really a 

newsletter. A newsletter implies certain 

rigid structures, media and circulation constraints 

– along with certain legal and technical 

requirements as to copyrights, circulation 

registration and postal regulations – 

with which Kol Kramers may not be in 

strict compliance. The team, therefore, 

urges the following change: 

Instead of “the newsletter that helps…” 

make it “the unlicensed, non-regulated 

informational periodical, produced in electronic 

form and, without prejudice to the 

rights of the copyright holder, available in 

other media forms as well as on the internet, 

notwithstanding the fact that we do not 

have internet, that helps…” 

Much better. 

The review board (naturally, there’s a review 

board…) also suggests modifying the 

rest of the clause “that helps all current, 

former, and honorary Kramers”. After all, 

“helps all” is rather presumptuous, no? 

What if it doesn’t help? Haven’t we already 

established that there are, indeed, 

those that may not be staying in touch? 

And, this is Volume II already – so has it 

“helped all”. I don’t think so. Clearly a 

problem. So here’s the obvious suggested 

correction: 

“…that may, under certain circumstances, 

without expressed or implied warranties as 

to efficacy or fitness for use, provide some 

assistance, support, diversion or entertainment, 

to some, if not all…” 

Now we’re making real progress. 

Finally, we’ll address the problematic 

opening clause, “Welcome to the nth issue 

of KOL KRAMERS…” Welcome? This 

isn’t a Tupperware party. We’ve already 

established the nature of this periodical – 

and “welcome” simply doesn’t fit. Are we 

trying to suggest that one does not have to 

pay for Kol Kramers, as in “you are welcome 

to it”? Or are we suggesting 

“welcome” as a way to invite readers to 

begin reading? Or “welcome” as an invitation 

to participate, as in “you are welcome 

to submit material…” As you can see, this 

is highly ambiguous, problematic phrasing. 

And what does Kol Kramers mean? If it is 

intended to be the Kol of the Kramers, then 

it should read “Kol Kramers’…”. If the 

intention is to Kol of a specific Kramer, 

then “Kol Kramer’s” would be required. 

What’s worse is that the clause then proceeds 

to contradict either interpretation by 

implying that it is the Kol of some who are 

not (really) Kramers at all with the phrase 

“current, former, and honorary Kramers”! 

The team’s ingenious solution to this linguistic 

quagmire, instead of “Welcome to 

the nth issue of KOL KRAMERS” is: 

“Following herewith, embedded, attached 

or otherwise reproduced, the nth issue of 

Kol …” 

Putting it all together then, we have a profoundly 

improved version of the tag line; 

elegantly enhanced for clarity, precision 

and technical correctitude. 

“Following herewith, embedded, attached 

or otherwise reproduced, the nth issue of 

Kol , volume #x, the unlicensed, nonregulated 

informational periodical, produced 

in electronic form and, without 

prejudice to the rights of the copyright 

holder, available in other media forms as 

well as on the internet, notwithstanding the 

fact that we do not have internet, that may, 

under certain circumstances, without expressed 

or implied warranties as to efficacy 

or fitness for use, provide some assistance, 

support, diversion or entertainment, to 

some, if not all, current, former and honorary 

Kramers, stay even more in direct formal 

and informal communications through 

various media forms including, but not 

limited to, written, oral and electronic 

means, with each other than we have in 

the past, done, do presently and plan to do 

in the foreseeable future, those of us not in 

touch, notwithstanding.” 


T 

he weather in Los Angeles 

has been delightful. 

As usual. 

Every single day. 

And it is even nicer, now that 

Tatty is finally home! 

But, we are getting ahead of ourselves… 

Last Thursday night, after Rabbi 

Smith’s shiur, Debbie and Judy 

Hantman stayed on a bit to look 

at (what else?) digital pictures of 

the event. 

Coast To Coast Kramers: 

Mommy’s Report: 

One of their guests, Rebecca, 

stayed late also, and was delighted 

to recognize the picture of Kayla 

on our front hall table. 

It seems that she was on the Zaret 

“Ashreinu/JAM” Kiruv trip to 

Israel this past summer, and had a 

very memorable (and apparently 

impactful) Shabbos meal with JJ 

and Kayla! 

Sleeping off last week’s KOL 

KRAMERS all-nighter was a 

breeze on Friday, since Mommy 

was spending Shabbos eating AND 

sleeping at Judy and David Leonard’s! 

On Shabbos day, we were joined 

by Nochum and Harriet Wisnicki, 

empty nesting, but bearing 

up well. Nochum gets top KK 

bekius points, by praising JJ’s 

Dvar Torah, and pointing out that 

JJ had succeeded in distilling the 

essence of a 6 page Ohr Gedalyahu 

essay on the parsha. Nochum 

then proceeded to Jerusalem Diaries 

where his eagle eye instantly 

found the name of the Wisnicki’s 

son, Yosef! 

After Shabbos the Kramer Screen- 

ing Room hosted a companion to 

the concurrent Shalom 

“INSPIRED” Melave Malka. 

(For details, see ‘News From 

NJ’...) 

Among the “Ushpizin” were the 

Leonards, Sachs’, Wisnickis, 

Altschulers, and Chumie and 

YM’s Savta Beck! 

Link from: Sharon (Lessans) Green’s mom, Phyllis Lessans, http://www.jacquielawson.com/viewcard.asp?code=0183913358 

Click on it to watch a real “Turkey in the Straw”… the kids are gonna love this! 


Welcome the newest addition to the 

"Kurcfeld Klan", now known as "Baby 

Boy" Kamenetzky. Mother and son are 

doing well. MAZEL TOV!!! 

On Monday, Mommy and Savta 

Beck enjoyed Rabbi Gradon’s 

shiur, then had some yummy deli 

at Pico Kosher Deli, and then 

checked out the new Judaica Store 

across the street. (Any aineklach 

interested in a puzzle of the Bais 

HaMikdash, and a new board 

game of Jewish Trivial Pursuit?) 

Tuesday saw Mommy heading out 

the Valley to check out the computer 

projection equipment and to 

meet with Rabbi Levi Solomon of 

Emek Academy in preparation for 

Monday’s Yom Iyun sessions on 

e-Chinuch.org. 

On Wednesday morning, 

Margy brought 

Julia to play with 

Denis, and headed 

out with Mommy for 

a morning of fun at 

the Grove. (By the 

way, neither Margy 

Coast To Coast Kramers: 

Mommy’s Report: 

nor Mommy have succeeded in 

getting the music of The Mikado 

out of their heads for more than a 

few minutes, ever since rehearsals 

started!) 

On Wednesday afternoon the 

Kramer living room was turned 

into a yoga studio, as Mommy’s 

new teacher, Erin, came, unfurled 

her mats, and de-stressed her stu- 

dents, who now include a much 

more relaxed Cecile Cohen! 

Shirley Lebovics, who got us all 

into this, was AWOL at the Agudah 

Convention! 

The class ended just in time for 

Tatty’s homecoming. 

On Thursday, R’ Avi and Erica 

Shulman arrived, fresh from the 

glories of the desert around Se- 

dona, Arizona, and joined Tatty 

and Mommy for a traditional 

Thanksgiving feast of Meatballs, 

Spareribs, and Salmon Salad at the 

ever elegant Elite Cuisine. 

(Tatty, in deference to his adopted 

country, ordered the sliced turkey!) 

(Ilana Keilson’s hysterical email will 

have to wait for next week, out of room!) 

Link from: Sharon (Lessans) Green’s mom, Phyllis Lessans, http://www.jacquielawson.com/viewcard.asp?code=0183913358 

Click on it to watch a real “Turkey in the Straw”… the kids are gonna love this! 


Crème de la 

Krames this 

week has to 

go to Malka 

Leah, and 

her dedicated 

team, who 

put together a 

fabulously 

“inspiring” 

evening for 

the Shalom 

Staff this 

past Motzei 

Shabbos. 

Kudos to 

Mrs. Tova 

Raitzik of 

Shalom, 

who really 

knows how 

to show Hakoras 

Ha- 

Tov! 


H 

ello Folks! 

Lots to report this week, 

(and I’m embarrassed to admit that 

I forgot all about the Kol Kramers 

WEDNESDAY deadline that I had 

helped institute last week) so here 

I am on the high holy Turkey Day 

typing quickly as the faint sound 

of Mommy’s fingers tapping at 

her keyboard 3,000 miles away 

calls to me in a persistent clickety 

click of a whisper: “where’s your 

news from NJ, where’s your news 

from NJ…?” 

Last Thursday (as you may have 

read in Kol K’s late breaking 

news) I had the Zechus to spend 

the day with Shoshi and JB – Mazal 

Tov again – which, thanks to 

my trusty assistants at the home 

front (Devorah and Racheli) did 

not derail me from getting everything 

done for a very busy Shabbos. 

(I came home to kids ready for bed 

and potato kugels gemacht!) 

Thank you Yehudis for spending 

Friday morning with me- we’re all 

so glad your Mother is feeling 

much better. 

After Yehudis and I did the last 

minute shopping, dropping off Siyum 

nosh for Asher at YTT 

(Mazal Tov Swusher!) and other 

errands, we spend a wonderful Fri- 

News From New Jersey 

Malka Leah Writes: 

day night with Cindy and co. 

KA”H it was a nice sized group 

with the Klugmanns, ourselves, 

and Yehudis and her little brother 

Michoel (Yehuda’s buddy) who 

also joined us for Shabbos. 

Thanks to the special Shabbos 

spice (and Yanky Adler’s nice 

bottle of wine) the table was alive 

with “spirit” and animated conversation 

and divrei Torah. We 

missed you Pesach and Chedva, 

Pesach- we understand you’re 

busy shteiging, but Chedva – 

we’ll have to reschedule that Agudah 

Midwest reunion with your 

Lakewood pals… 

Shabbos Day we all (save the big 

girl babysitters and babies) trekked 

out to Davening at Willow Court 

where the Rav eloquently pinpointed 

what is so special about 

Binyomin Klugmann’s mishpacha: 

their close connection to 

our Gedolim, Rabbonim and their 

commitment to maintaining that 

Shaychus and transmitting the importance 

of our 

Mesorah to their children. 

Then off to Ner 

Dovid for a beautiful 

bar Mitzvah Kiddush 

for Binyomim’s 

nephew, Avi, where an 

elegant white-suited 

Cindy once again 

wowed our Lakewood 

chevra with her winsome 

Washington 

Heights wit. We en- 

joyed Ayala and Moshe’s company 

for lunch and reluctantly allowed 

Blanca to steal the Klugmanns 

away for the rest of the 

day. 

Motzei Shabbos was a flurry of 

activity as Devorah and Racheli’s 

pals (Thank you SO much again 

Yehudis, Dassi, Mindy, Atara, 

and Chayala!) ran over to Kol 

Aryeh with me to set up for the 

Shalom inter-staff Melave 

Malka. 

The place really was transformed 

thanks to Mrs. Lapa’s beautiful 

tablecloths and topiaries and my 

candlesticks/gold candles (thank 

you KLONY AND GITTY since 

they were bought for your sheva 

brachos last year!) 

Also, thank you KLONY – the 

real one – for running out right 

after Shabbos with the KOC van 

to pick up and deliver all the many 

trays of hot food from La Petit 

France – without oven mitts! 

Thank you again KLONY for 

coming over very late at night af- 


(Continued from page 7) 

ter the whole clean-up and helping 

me put everything in the car, and 

even following me home!). 

Asher and Kayla – great job 

wrapping all the gifts, speaking of 



which thank you Chananya and 

Eeta for your help with the 

“Shalom Shin” so that Rabbi and 

Mrs. Brodsky could put together 

such a beautiful Shalom style 

framed Tefillah L’Morah for each 

teacher. 

Rabbis Freedman 

and Gruman 

spoke, and 

the crowd (over 

80 ppl KA”H) 

was then glued 

to their seats as 

they watched 

both versions 

(men and 

women) of IN- 

SPIRED, Aish 

HaTorah’s fabulous 

documentary 

films on Baalei 

Teshuva and their 

stories. 

My new friend 

and neighbor, 

Genese Lieberman, 

who is interviewed 

on the 

films, spoke beautifully and from 

the heart at the end of the evening, 

thanking the Shalom teachers (“the 

elite of Lakewood”) for their efforts 

on behalf of the children and 

families who, like herself, would 

otherwise not have known a life of 

Torah. 

At our “humble editor’s” 

STRONG request, I have included 

a copy of a thank you letter I received 

from a teacher after the 

event for your collective Nachas. It 

really was a beautiful event all 

around. 

Much later that night, I was surprised 

and entertained by 

Chansky’s video of the Feder/ 

Kramer/Tatty party in Baltimore 

that very same night! Ahh, the 

wonders of modern technology 

(and wonderfully weird brothers 

who make totally random videos 

out of everything…) 









Sunday evening Racheli organized 

an awesome pajama party for the 

kiddies plus Michoel Adler, and 

Ahron, Leah and Devorah (LR) 

Josephs who were here for the 

night while Zev and Shera went to 

Shani Rubenstien’s wedding. 

Devorah, Yehudis and I came 

home from Dr. Shanik (we’re trying 

to figure out why D’vo’s arm 

keeps hurting) to find all the kids 

in pajamas, sitting on a major 

“gushtown” in front of a roaring 

fire (in a fireplace, Cindy) roasting 



marshmallows, sipping hot cocoa 

(until Tatty made them take it in 

the kitchen) and listening to stories! 

Hide and Seek and pillow fights 

were soon to follow, and, even after 

the exhausted and happy bunch 

were settling down with their 

many fans (that’s the blowing kind 

not the clapping kind) and sleeping 

bags to really go to sleep, mean 

mommy broke it up to put everyone 

to bed in their own real rooms. 

(sorry again Racheli!) It was 

really adorable. 

Tuesday evening, after a couple of 

exhilarating orthodontist appointments, 

most of the kids and I went 

to Western Monmouth County to 

see the Shalom kids’ displays at 



their “Judaic Fair”. Great stuff! 

Asher and the gang especially enjoyed 

the interactive Shatnez exhibit 

which allowed you to take 



sample fibers of wool and flax and 

view them under a microscope 

enlarged on a video screen! Way 

cool! 

Later that night I found myself at 

Bais Faiga trying to chase down 

the 10 teachers of Devorah, 

Racheli and Kayla for some major 

Nachas reports! Mission accomplished, 

I left the building tired but 

happy. Way to go girls! 

Wednesday I took Devorah out 

early to Little Silver (Don’tcha just 

love these New Jersey towns?) to 

see the orthopedist, Dr. Stankowitz 

(no laughing.) (ok, a little 

laughing.) (“My father was from 

Shtinkenbroin…”) who took x- 

rays and said that B”H Dvo’s arm 

is not broken, nor is it re-broken 

from three years ago, but it seems 

to be some sort of muscular thing 

like tendonitis… so, she’s skipping 

piano lessons for two weeks, taking 

Aleve and sleeping with a 

wrist brace… we’ll see! 

I gotta finish this up cuz any minute 

BJ, Mikey and the wonderful 

wizard of Oz are arriving for dinner 

and a sleep 

over – yay! 

(WHERE 

ARE YOU 

ESTI T??) 

Good job by 

you BJ (aka 

Mr. Mom) and 

thank you for being such a fun uncle 

to the kiddies…( “220, 221, 

whatever it takes…”). We miss 

you Adina but are glad you’re 

livin’ it up at Nina’s with the 

girls!! 

Thanks in advance Beej and Faige 

and Chananya for driving/ having 

Kayla for Shabbos – she’s very 

excited! 

I feel like there are a whole lot of 

exclamation points in this article!! 

Yeah! 

Yasher Koach to Gracie on the 

AMAZING transformation of Bais 

Yaakov Baltimore (especially the 

animal room) which we hope at 

least some of us will get to see at 

some point this weekend… 



I’d like to admit publicly that I 

seem to have a serious picture taking 

disorder when it comes to 

Baby Miriam. Sorry. (I guess I’m 

just trying to make Yehuda L. R. 

feel better…) 

That about wraps it up, 

Good Shabbos! 

ML 




From Chananya: 

www.thekramers.org/BaltKramers/AccentsWithTatty.wmv 

Watch the movie of Saturday night out with Tatty at “Accents”! 

Mostly Monsey 

(and Manhattan Too): 

M 

onsey happenings 

On Sunday night, Adina 

flew to Israel to spend the week 

with her sister Chaya, and her sisters-in-law 

Kayla and Chumie. I 

truly hope you’ll be reading all 

about her trip later on in this issue 

(c’mon honey, don’t disappoint us! 

We want an article!) I’ve stayed 

home with the boys and tried my 

best to keep them clean and fed, 

and keep the house in order. 

Of course, I don’t think 

even trying my best is doing 

justice to the standards my 

incomparable wife has set. 

That being said, I think the boys 

have been kept reasonably clean, 

have had every meal they were 

supposed to, and the house is in 

reasonable order. 

I did discover a few things, 

though. It turns out that Mikey 

CJ is off the hook this week, since he 

made that hysterical video of Tatty 

and the Baltimore couples on Motzei 

Shabbos, his kids are dancing up a 

storm for an upcoming video, and 

because Esti is so darn cute! 

really doesn’t eat. There is nothing 

I can do to get that kid to even 

look at something new to eat, and 

those things he does eat, he eats in 

very small quantities. 

Of course, Mikey’s low calorie 


Mostly Monsey 

(and Manhattan Too): 

intake in no way negatively impacts 

his energy level. Not one bit. 

Now Ozzie, bless him, takes after 

his father when it comes to food. 

He will eat tons (of pretty much 

anything). And after he finishes 

eating, I only have to wait a few 

minutes and he’ll be ready to eat 

again. (Have I mentioned how 

much I love Ozzie?) And amazingly 

enough, Mikey really enjoys 

school, and really looks forward to 

doing his homework, such as it is 

in Pre-1A. (Did I mention how 

much I love Mikey, despite the 

fact that he doesn’t seem to take 

after his father in pretty much any 

regard? Well, in this case it’s because 

he doesn’t take after his fa- 

ther, but you know what I mean.) 

I’ve also discovered that if you 

take these two boys to a restaurant 

for dinner, you’d better eat before 

you go there, because you won’t 

be able to get any eating done 

while you’re trying to keep them 

from harassing other restaurantgoers 

and tearing the place apart. 

Tomorrow (Thursday, or yesterday 

to you, most likely), we will be 

heading to the Josephs in the afternoon 

for Thanksgiving dinner, or 

some approximation thereof, dependant 

upon what’s allowed in 

Lakewood. From there we plan on 

heading to Baltimore on Friday to 

spend Shabbos with the Baltimore 

Kramers, and maybe cross paths 

with Honorary Kramer David 

Whitehead, and maybe even 

Kramer-with-the-wrong-last-name 

Cousin Daive, who I hear will be 

in Baltimore as well. 

Oh, by they way – remember when 

I said that stuff about doing a good 

job taking care of the kids while 

their mother is away? Well, let’s 

just say What Happens in Monsey- 

When-Adina’s-Not-There, STAYS 

in Monsey-When-Adina’s-Not- 

There! 

PS: 

It’s a shame this staying at home 

for a week without the wife around 

thing happened to me, and not 

Chananya. He would have written 

a much funnier article about it. 



Mostly Monsey 

(and Manhattan 

Too): 

Latest weather report: 

We had a dusting of snow last night, our 

first of the season. Looks like we're in 

for a long winter. Also, Ozzie is still 

adorable, so here's another picture of 

him. 

Hey, this is BJ; here's the pictures 

from today, since I arrived at the 

Josephs. What do you think of the 

very mommy-like action photo of 

Ozzie falling out of the toy car? 

(He was fine, of course). 

Anyway, what KK would be complete 

without a pic of the semi-real 

Klony, —> 

who stopped by about an hour 

ago?!?! 

-B.J. 


F 

or the first time, this week the KOL KRAMERS will be released in two 

versions. 

Our Humble Editor will be creating (well, has created if you’re reading 

this) the normal version which gets emailed, and I will be creating an ever-soslightly 

different version for the archive at www.thekramers.org/kolkramers. 

In the past, I have simply uploaded the version I (and the rest of the world) got in 

my email, but some users (OK, maybe it was just me) have complained that the 

images are fuzzy when printed. This is because we set Acrobat to compress the 

images to make the file size smaller; a necessity when emailing (for more information 

about image compression, see KK Vol 1, Issue 13) . 

The files on the web archive, however, can be as big as we want them to be. 

So I will be creating (will have created) a version of each new issue with much 

less compression applied to the pictures. This means that from now on the files 

in the web archive will be larger than the issue you get via email, and will take 

longer to download than they have in the past. However, they will produce much 

sharper pictures when printed. 

I will generally be posting the high-quality versions by 9 AM (Eastern) on Fridays. 

If any of you out there have comments, complaints, suggestions, fan mail, or hate 

mail about this, please drop me a line. 

BJ 


D 

ear Family, 

The Bais Yaakov convention 

was beautiful! And 

the museum exhibit that BY created 

is absolutely magnificent! The 

pictures are of the one room that I 

was involved in. There were 10 

rooms each focusing on a different 

theme. As you can tell, mine was 

the animal room. I can’t really call 

it mine – I was just an appointed 

advisor for this room but all the 

creativity, planning, shopping, designing, 

and putting together was 

up to the two High School girls in 

charge of this room. I was basically 

there to nudge them. 

They did a fantastic job. 

So Thursday night I was there till 

3 a.m. and Motzei Shabbos till 1 

am. Thankfully, Eeta Berger and 

crew came Thursday night to help 

me cook for Shabbos so I was 

done by 9:30 pm when I left the 

house. Shabbos was really nice! 

We had Mrs. Kurcfeld, honorary 

Kramer Tova, and Ita. Not to be 

confused with Eeta who also came 

with friend Chani Bloch from St. 

Louis. 

Mrs. Kurcfeld, Hatzlacha in your 

new home. May you fill it with 

Simcha! I’ll be there soon to get 

Sara Chana 

Reports: 

your boxes…Thanks! 

Motzei Shabbos we had a really 

nice outing with Tatty and Kramers 

which looks like the absolutely 

most exciting event ever if you 

watch Chananya’s video (no 

doubt he included the link already 

for that – enjoy!) 

Thank you Tatty – it was so nice 

to spend time together – Mommy 

we missed you. 

Happy belated birthday Faige and 

Chumie – I remembered LAST 

week, oh well! Then Tzippy arrived 

with a bit of LA! 

It was so great to have her and all 

the amenities that she squished 

into her luggage. My kids have a 

thing for shower caps (thanks 

Ma!). And let’s not forget the 

globe! 

Tzippy, who lives in fear of 

Mommy, had the globe in a shopping 

bag, plus her purse and a 



sheitel box, faced with a decision 

as to which of the 3 she should 

check, she checked the sheitel! 

Can you believe it? That’s loyalty! 

Well, Ma, the kids loved it! And I 

had a blast reliving sem for a few 

days. Well, not exactly, but it was 

so nice having her here. 

On my way home from seeing 

Rabbi Krohn at the BY convention 

on Monday night, I stopped 

off at the Kramer’s for some good 

entertainment care of Chananya, 

Lipa Schmeltzer, and Shmuel 

Kramer - what a total riot! You 

guys have to see the video of him 

dancing! And let’s not forget 

Faige’s amazing Chocolate Chip 

Cookies – thanx guys! 

Tzip, thanks for coming! Adina, I 

hope you have an amazing time! 

Daven for all of us. Hope to see 

you in Baltimore Beej, --Tatty, I 

miss your ADP turkey! Much 

love to all, 

-Gracie 

**************************** 

The following was written by 

Gracie, and was posted at the entrance 

of the "Animal Room" of 

the Bais Yaakov Convention in 

Baltimore-. 

The theme of the Convention was 

Ashira LaHaShem B'Chayai, and 

this room was part of the section 

showing how the whole Briah 

praises HaShem. 

**************************** 

The use of animal imagery has 

long been a part of our people’s 

tradition, stretching back to the 

time of the formation of Klal 

Yisrael as a nation. 

Birkas Yaakov, Yaakov Avinu’s 

Sara Chana 

Reports: 

blessing of the Sh'vatim, gave 

each Shevet its definition and 

mission as summed up in its 

Bracha—and six of those brachos 

used animal imagery: The 

lion, the donkey, the snake, the 

deer, the ox, and the wolf. 

Throughout the history of Klal 

Yisroel, we have suffered 

through four bestial exiles, 



which have been compared to 

the lion, the bear, the leopard, 

and the pig. 

Ultimately the bitterness will 

end. When that day comes, our 

nation will rise up through the 

fulfillment of Hashem’s promises, 

as symbolized by the roaming 

foxes on Har HaBayis, which 

Rabbi Akiva saw as a sign of 

hope. 

Hashem will gather us in upon 

“the wings of eagles,” and at that 

time we will live to see a day 

when the “bear and cow will 

graze together, the wolf and the 

lamb will live side by side.” 

Then, at the time of the Geulah, 

we will return to our home, 

Our Land, which is compared 

to the swift and beautiful deer 

— 

Sara Chana 

Reports: 

Eretz Tzvi — 

Artzeinu HaKedoshah — 

Bimheira B’Yameinu, 

Amein 


D 

ear KOL KRAMERS, 

In my mind and heart I’ve 

drafted and redrafted 

many letters to KOL KRAMERS, 

but have never committed them to 

paper. I have long wanted to compliment 

the Kramer family 

(especially “Your Humble Editor”) 

on their commitment to KK. A 

wonderful visit to Sarah Chana 

and her family warrants putting 

pen to paper. And so, instead of 

cooking for Shabbos, I take a few 

moments to share my experience 

with you. 

Firstly, allow me to describe myself 

boarding the plane with 2 

carry-ons: my purse and a globe 

for the Feder children. I also had 

my Sheitel box, but when they told 

me that something had to go, I 

faced an inner struggle. Should I 

check the sheitel of the globe? Well, if something happened to the 

sheitel I would be disappointed 

and actually quite mortified to 

wear a snood to the Bais Yaakov 

Convention in front of close to 

1000 people. On the other hand if 

something happened to the globe, I 

would disappoint the Feder children 

and never be able to face 

Mrs. Kramer again. 

I checked the sheitel and carried 

the globe. 

The Feders were very excited over 

Guest Reporter 

from L. A., 

Tzippy Kohen 

Reports: 

the globe and the soaps, shampoos, 

mouthwash and shower caps that I 

brought from Babika. 

Sarah Chana pampered me and I 

enjoyed a most delightful few days 

in her home. She and he wonderful 

husband have some of the curtest, 

smartest, well-mannered and 

talented children. (Mrs. Kramer, 

does that earn me a few points?) 

Her cakes and vegetable soup were 

out of this world, and she shlepped 

me back and forth to the Bais Yaa- 



kov High School numerous times. 

The Convention was a great success. 

The exhibit was overwhelming 

in beauty and meaning, and 

inspired all who came to see it. 

All personal feelings aside, the 

room that Sarah Chana took 

charge of was the greatest hit. 

With its 

full sized 

barn, magnificent 

sound effects,striking 

scenery 

and creative patchwork 

wall, it stole 

the show. 

The Baltimore girls 

impressed everyone 

(even the L. A. girls) with their 

unbelievable performances and 

I am told that much credit for 

that is owed to Mrs. Faige 

Kramer. The 

speeches were all 

fascinating and hearing 

Rabbi Krohn was 

a highlight of the Convention. 

Sarah Chana, I hope 

I’m invited back soon. 

All my love, 

Tzippy 

Guest Reporter 

from L. A., 

Tzippy Kohen 

Reports: 

PS: Your mother seemed to honestly 

like the scarf. 


Special Thanks to Chaya (Kurcfeld) Goldman’s friend, Sara Fayge Twerski—whose computer 

and email Adina was able to use to finally file this report—Adina was experiencing serious technical 

difficulties with her laptop, and her favorite IT guy (actually everyone’s favorite IT guy) 

was an ocean away!! Way to go Adina—you may have stayed up till midnight, but you got this 

report in on time for KOL KRAMERS’ deadline!! 

Jerusalem Diaries 

Adina (from Monsey!) Writes: 

I 

can’t believe that I actually 

mustered the courage to get 

on the plane…but having 

spent mucho dinero on my ticket 

and already typing up strict instructions 

and schedules for BJ, I 

was left with no choice. I believe 

this might truly be the beginning 

of a new era--the creation of 

“ultra Aunt Adina” (see “Ultra 

Dad” for further explanation). 

Perhaps this trip signifies the 

dawning of a new spontaneous and 

(slightly) less anal version of the 

old “household hinting” me. Perhaps 

there are more crazy, spur of 

the moment, adventures awaiting 

me in the future. 

On second thought, let’s not jump 

to conclusions, I only said slightly 

less anal. 

I am truly having a wonderful time 

here in Israel and definitely feel 

like the seminary girl I once was, 

just about (ahem) 10 years ago. 

Except, this time around I have a 

tichel on my head, a comfortable 

place to sleep, and a hot shower 

any time I want one. My sister 

Chaya’s apartment in Har Nof is 

very spacious and has a beautiful 

view. Her daughters Mali and 

Henni have grown a lot since I 

have seen them last. They are 

typical happy toddlers…who love 

going through my stuff. (“No, 

Henni my passport does not belong 

in the bathtub.”) My sister 

and I have quickly reverted back to 

our older/younger sister banter as 

she keeps trying to prove to me 

that she’s really grown up and can 

actually cook and clean on her 

own. We hosted our cousin Yitzy 

for dinner on Tuesday night and 

Chaya actually prepared a delicious 

stir-fry dinner for us. Way 

to go, Chaya! 

On Wednesday, I went to see my 

high-school best friend Miriam 

who now lives in Geulah. We 

schmoozed for the afternoon as 

plumbers worked on some dripping 

pipes in her ceiling. They 

then closed the hole they cut out 

with a random piece of plywood 

they found in her hallway. Only, 

in Israel! Following my visit with 

Miriam, I walked from Geulah to 

the Kotel via Rechov Yaffo. After 

buying a six shekel “shoko cham” 

to warm myself up, I stumbled 

upon a sight I have only recently 

seen in my dreams. Eliyahu 

Hanavi? No. Moshiach ben 

David? No. A handsome chayal 

ready to sweep me off my feet? 

No once again. Do my eyes deceive 

me or is that…Coffee Bean 

in the distance!? (Coffee Bean in 

Israel and not NewYork?) Of 

course, I could not in good conscience 

dispose of the somewhat 

inadequate hot chocolate I had just 

bought, so I silently made a pact 

with myself to return to Coffee 

Bean in the very very very near 

future. 

After my trip to 

the Kotel, I enjoyed 

dinner at 

Kayla’s apartment 

with Osnat R., 

Michal R., and the 

Jacobsons. Aunt 

Tyra and Uncle 

Moishe dropped in for a quick 

visit. As usual, the food was 

scrumptious (roast chicken, fried 

potatoes, mango salad and left 

over spicy French fries (huh?)… 

although I won’t mention who actually 

did most of the cooking.* 

Thursday and Friday will most 

likely include cooking for Shabbos 

and shopping. After all, one must 

always make time for shopping. 

Have a good Shabbos. 

I miss you Beej, Mikey, and 

Ozzie! 

I LOVE YOU GUYS! 

Adina 

*(me) 



Kayla Writes: 

H 

i peoples! 

I don’t have that much 

time, but I must point out 

before anything that ALANA 

SPITZ AND CHEVY RUBEN- 

STEIN are both here helping me 

cook. 

Okay guys? You’re in Kol Kramers. 

I even took pictures with them to 

prove it. 

And here they are. 

I just got back from Arbel Cohen, 

now Butchook's, wedding which 

was very, very nice. 

Got to see Crummy's whole class! 

Alana babysat for me. 

I had the privilege of interacting 

with THREE of my Kellner cousins 

this week! I 

went to Kayla Pitter 

one afternoon so 

our kiddies could 

play together- it 

was actually really 

cute the way they 

interacted, Yehuda 

played really nicely 

with Sara Sheindel. 

While I was there I got to speak 

to Miri! It was such a nice 

added bonus. And then yesterday, 

I got a call from Asher's 

teacher- Breindy! 

Oh, Breindy- I spoke to your sister 

in law- she sounds so cute! I 

will I'YH have her over soon. 

I'd love to be in touch with the rest 

of the Kellnerim- Klony and 

Giddy, we miss you guys!!!!! 

Aunt Tyra and Uncle Moish also 

came by- we were honored by the 

short, but special visit. And to 

whom must we be thankful for 

their appearance? ADINA 

KRAMER!!! yayay- we’re having 

such a blast with her here! 

Last night was a rockin’ game of 

balderdash, preceded by a gourmet 

feast organized and executed by 

the maiden of Monsey herself- it 

was tres yummes. 

Crum and YM came too- Chumie 

says hi to everyone. We also went 

to the mall and to Nina’s- thanks 

BJ and ADINA for the fun and 

delicious treat! 

JJ has been coming home with 

some really exceptional and interesting 

vorts from Rav Druk- as 

well as the usual collection of 

great stuff from all his other 

classes- it's so nice that I get to 

hear all the Torah he learns- almost 

like still being in seminary... 

This week also brought its current 



Kayla Writes: 


of sadness with the news of Rabbi 

Kibel's passing. Alana was a close 

student at RITSS in Cincinnati and 

so was Deena Rosenberg who’s 

here too- and of course, Eeta- 

Ever since seminary, I've heard 

from every RITSS girl I ever met 

that "she was especially close to 

R' Kibel..." he was obviously a 

tremendous person to affect so 

many students so deeply- and he 

must have been proud during his 

lifetime of the girls that his school 

produced- the RITSS girls I've 

met (and I've met quite a few) are 

generally so mature and good and 

straight and normal- I’m sure he 

must have been proud. 

Thanks to my fabulous in-laws 

for sending the geshmakeh stuff- 

and our CAMERA!!!! 

In the Yehuda department: 

Chananya— Yehuda is OB- 

SESSED with your videos. He 

watches as we show them off to all 

our neighbors, friends, relatives, 

plumbers, meshulachs, IRS representatives- 

(enough Kayla)- and 

begs me to play it for him all the 

time! 

He says "I wan dat ___ fill in the 

blank..." he's ALMOST walking... 

very exciting. 

Good shabbos, 

Kayla 

Latest YLR movies from JJ!! 

http://www.rabinowich.com/Movies/Crawl.AVI 

http://www.rabinowich.com/Movies/Walk.AVI 


Chumie dictated her totally 

random thoughts to Your 

Humble Editor: 

H 

i everyone, I am MUCH 

too tired to write or even 

dictate and have to go to 

sleep right now. 

No, You do not understand 

Mommy, I MUST go to sleep right 

now! 

Well, I’ll just tell you that Reuven 

is adorable, even though he 

scratches me a lot. (Ed. Note: the 

suggestion was offered that Chumie 

cut her son’s nails…) 

You don’t understand, Mommy, I 

DO cut his nails, all the time, his 

nails just grow incredibly fast! 

It was so ravishing to hang out 

with Adina! She is the coolest! 

We are so excited that she is 

here… 

We are having bochurim for a 

meal on Shabbos… 

I went to Arbel Cohen’s wedding 

and had a great time. 

Many thanks to Cousin Kayla Pitter 

for lending us Sara Shaindel’s 

Chidushim 

from Chumie 

Exer-Saucer!! As you can see 

from the pictures HE LOVES IT! 

Last Shabbos we were in Ramat 

Beit Shemesh and got to spend 

Shabbos with Uncle Stanley and 

Aunt Ruth! 

Love to all, 

Chumie 

F 

rom Ithaca, 

Cousin Bootsy writes: 

Dear Shana, 

I found this today while I was 

looking for help with something 

to say today while my family 

gathers to eat together.— 

I am very grateful to all of you 

Kramer/Kellners for sharing 

your love so effortlessly and so 

infinitely. Every week I anxiously 

await the arrival of KK 

and as I read I feel the dedication 

and love that everyone holds and 

it always warms me, never fails to 

brighten my day. 

Thank you for your continued caring 

and love. 

Love, 

Bootsy 

Scatter love as you scatter 

seeds 

Your store stays undiminished 

For love makes love 

As seeds make seeds 

In a harvest never finished; 

Nor look to see how your gift 

fares- 

It is enough to plant it; 

Just sow love with a lavish 

hand 

And take harvest for granted. 

(unknown author) 


T 

his week I have a lot of information 

for you to digest, but I think 

it’s very important. I was talking 

with a friend of mine who is a scientist 

(actually, they’ve named an asteroid 

after her, she works for NASA) 

… that’s neither here nor there but this 

woman is so unassuming and caring 

about people, a true gem – and I get 

enlightened every time I speak with 

her. She has studied a lot of chemistry, 

so I value and trust what she has to say. 

I want to talk about personal care products…I 

know I’ve touched on them 

previously, but this time I’m really 

fired up! I’m so fired up because companies 

are preying on people’s ignorance 

(and on our trust in them). Our 

skin is our LARGEST organ, our first 

line of defense. It protects us… it both 

absorbs and secretes, and for those reasons 

we need to take especially good 

care of our skin. I am incensed because 

we apply our favorite regime of products 

to our skin every single day, year 

after year… and then when we do a 

little research, we discover that we 

have been naively poisoning ourselves. 

One could argue that all products have 

low-levels of these toxins, but toxins 

have a cumulative effect (and how low 

the levels really are is debatable, I’m 

not willing to take the risk!) 

I was looking through my own cabinets 

at the items I have chosen for my own 

and my family’s personal care, like: 

shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, soap, 

skin creams, etc. I always thought I 

was educated and could read and understand 

labels and now I know that I 

Best of Health 

with Bootsy 

was absolutely WRONG. Even though 

I might have bought the items in the 

“health food store” or the health food 

section of my market or drugstore, that 

doesn’t mean a thing if you don’t have 

some essential facts. I want to share 

those facts, and the things that I’ve 

been researching and learning, with 

you. 

The descriptive “all natural” has become 

a buzzword used by big and 

small companies alike, all trying to tap 

into the financial gains of the booming 

alternative health market. Even mainstream 

companies like Suave, who test 

on animals and use almost entirely synthetic 

ingredients, are trying to pass off 

their products as “natural,” and frankly, 

this is a sham. There is no regulation 

of these terms, so all of these companies 

get away with their attempts to 

delude the average public. 

Bodycare and cosmetic products are 

not considered medicines and are 

therefore not subject to FDA approval, 

nor does the FDA try to regulate 

the body care industry. There are 

many commonly used ingredients in 

cosmetics today with potential carcinogenic 

effects which have been so-far 

overlooked by the FDA and continue to 

be used in alarming proportions in 

daily cosmetic applications, even in 

“natural” products. 

The fact is that there is no legal definition 

for ‘natural’, and a chemist’s definition 

of ‘organic’ simply requires that 

the molecules contain carbon. Socalled 

“natural cosmetics” can still contain 

potentially harmful or irritant 

chemical preservatives, cheap, chemically 

derived aesthetic and texture enhancing 

additives, chemically derived 

sudsing agents, artificial colorants and 

fragrances….and they do! 

Here is a beginning list of some very 

common (and mostly toxic) ingredients 

to watch out for: 

sodium lauryl / laureth sulfate 

(aka SLS) -- Used in car 

washes, garage floor cleaners 

and engine degreasers - and in 

90% of products that foam. 

Animals exposed to SLS and 

ALS experience eye damage, 

central nervous system depression, 

laboured breathing, diarrhoea, 

severe skin irritation, 

and even death. Young eyes 

may not develop properly if 

exposed to SLS and ALS because 

proteins are dissolved. 

SLS and ALS may also damage 

the skin's immune system 

by causing layers to separate 

and inflame. It is frequently 

disguised in semi-natural cosmetics 

with the explanation 

"comes from coconut". 

propylene glycol – Propylene glycol 

(PG) is a petroleum derivative. 

It penetrates the skin and 

can weaken protein and cellular 

structure. Commonly used 

to make extracts from herbs. 

PG is strong enough to remove 

barnacles from boats! The 

EPA considers PG so toxic 

that it requires workers to wear 

protective gloves, clothing and 

goggles and to dispose of any 

PG solutions by burying them 

in the ground. Because PG 

penetrates the skin so quickly, 

the EPA warns against skin 

contact to prevent consequences 

such as brain, liver, 

and kidney abnormalities. But 

there isn't even a warning label 

on products such as stick de- 



odorants, where the concentration 

is greater than in most 

industrial applications. 

parabens (methyl, ethyl, propyl, 

iso, & butyl) – Parabens are 

just one of a large bunch of 

toxic chemicals that no-one 

has any idea of what the long 

term effects are if you use 

them every day on your skin. 

Leave-on products such as facial 

makeup and skin lotions 

are of greatest concern because 

of the long exposure time and 

opportunity for migration via 

the skin into the bloodstream. 

The recently discovered estrogenic 

effects of certain synthetic 

chemicals, such as the 

parabens, and their subsequent 

effects on the endocrine system 

of humans and wildlife, is 

of growing concern— 

especially in relation to 

women's risk of breast cancer 

(a recent study found that 18 

out of 20 breast tumors biopsied 

contained parabens!) 

Reproductive abnormalities in 

young boys exposed to such 

chemicals either prior to puberty 

or as fetuses also may 

increase risk for undescended 

testicles, testicular cancer, 

sperm abnormalities and prostate 

disorders. 

DEA (aka diet hanolamine), 

MEA (monoethanolamine), 

and TEA (triethanolamine)-- 

Best of Health 

with Bootsy 

Often used in cosmetics to adjust 

the pH, and used with 

many fatty acids to convert 

acid to salt (stearate), which 

then becomes the base for a 

cleanser. TEA causes allergic 

reactions including eye problems, 

dryness of hair and skin, 

and could be toxic if absorbed 

into the body over a long period 

of time. These chemicals 

are already restricted in Europe 

due to known carcinogenic 

effects. (why are we so behind 

the 8-ball?) Dr. Samuel Epstein 

(Professor of Environmental 

Health at the University 

of Illinois) says that repeated 

skin applications . . . of DEAbased 

detergents resulted in a 

major increase in the incidence 

of liver and kidney cancer. 

Diazolidinyl Urea - Established as 

a primary cause of contact dermatitis 

(American Academy of 

Dermatology). Contains formaldehyde, 

a carcinogenic 

chemical, is toxic by inhalation, 

a strong irritant, and 

causes contact dermatitis. 

FD&C Color Pigments – Synthetic 

colours made from coal 

tar. Contain heavy metal salts 

that deposit toxins onto the 

skin, causing skin sensitivity 

and irritation. Animal studies 

have shown almost all of them 

to be carcinogenic. 

Isopropyl Alcohol (SD-40) - A 

very drying and irritating solvent 

and dehydrator that strips 

your skin's natural acid mantle, 

making us more vulnerable to 

bacteria, moulds and viruses. It 

is made from propylene, a petroleum 

derivative. It may promote 

brown spots and prema- 

ture aging of skin. 

Mineral Oil – a petroleum byproduct 

that coats the skin like 

plastic, clogging the pores. 

Interferes with skin's ability to 

eliminate toxins, promoting 

acne and other disorders. 

Slows down skin function and 

cell development, resulting in 

premature aging. Used in 

many products (baby oil is 

100% mineral oil!) Any mineral 

oil derivative can be contaminated 

with cancer causing 

PAH's (Polycyclic Aromatic 

Hydrocarbons). Manufacturers 

use petroleum because it is 

unbelievably cheap. 

Kind of makes you wonder why we’re 

putting these major skin irritants (that 

being the least of their effects) onto our 

precious skin!!! 

Go look at any of your bottles. I guarantee 

at least one, if not more, of these 

ingredients will be in just about everything 

you use. I was amazed and I think 

you will be too. 

I don’t want to overwhelm you with 

too much information this week, nor do 

I want you all to panic and throw out 

all of your personal care products (like 

I did!) – You can save money and more 

importantly, your health, by making or 

buying products with healthy ingredients. 

Once you know the ingredients 

that are toxic / harmful, it’s easy to 

make decisions for yourself. 

To Your Good Health, 

Bootsy 


Cute Kid Quotes 

Gracie writes: 

W 

hen Avi was starting 

to put Rochel’s tights 

on her, he grumbled: 

‘these tights are a pain in the 

neck’. 

She responded: 

“They don’t go up to the neck!” 

******* 

‘Big Kids’ Quote: 

When Avi started giving out 

marshmallows for parsha questions 

last Shabbos, Kayla (our 

resident noshaholic – obsessed 

with candy, who stands by the 

cabinet looking up at where nosh 

is kept and screams with her 

hands up…) saw the bag of treats 

and started running towards 

him screaming. 

Avi said ‘OK, OK, Kayla 

– you’ll get a parsha question 

too.’ 

Kayla continued to scream and 

Avi asked: 

‘What did Yitzchok Avinu Say 

when he was born?...Good! 

You got it, Kayla!’ 

And he gave her a marshmallow. 

We all laughed. 

(Ed. Note: It is going to be hard 

remaining Your “Humble” Editor…>) 

Racheli had a writing assignment in 

school. She was told to write a paragraph 

about her grandmother – here it is: 

“My Grandmother” 

By: Racheli Josephs 

Ainekle 

Creative Writing! 

Have you ever experienced coming home after a long tiring 

day of school to a quiet gloomy house? Well, not when my 

grandmother is there. When she walks in the door, you hear 

a nice cheery “HELLO”. 

My grandmother, Shana Kramer, is a very humorous and 

cheerful person to be with. My grandmother is about 55 

years old and seems like she is 35. Every week she sends 

out a thirty page newsletter to a huge email list she has 

(friends and family). Now this newsletter is not just “news”. 

It’s every little breath that someone takes. She spends all 

night on it, and each issue is a gorgeous masterpiece. 

Aside from all these qualities, she is also a good, talented 

Balabusta, and I love her French Toast and Tzimmes. She 

has a lot of patience for everyone. She is so, so special in so 

many ways. There is no one in the world like my grandmother. 


Skipping the birthday list in the last two issues of Kol Kramers has 

left Your Humble Editor with some serious egg on her face. 

Not only did she miss noting Klony and Gitty’s first anniversary, but 

Klony’s English birthday as well! 

(Not to mention ignoring the birthday of TWO mothers of 

Kramer aineklach (!), and missing the first chance KOL KRAMERS 

would have had to wish Happy Birthday to Aunt Tyra, 

since inaugurating our new policy of only announcing the ages of the 

under-drinking-age set.) 

So...some serious back-pedaling is in order: 

Happy Birthday to Cousins M’Chaim and Ruth’s Adiel Leora Lieberman who turned 2 on November 5th! 

Happy Birthday to Aunt Tyra on November 5th as well! 

Happy Retroactive 

Birthdays To: 

Happy Birthday to Cousins Miri (Kellner) Frankel on November 13th! 

Happy Birthday to Cousins Chumie and Shloime’s Basya Greenberger who turned 2 on November 14th! 

Happy Birthday to Cousins Sori and Menachem’s Ruchama King who turned 7, also on November 14th! 

Happy Birthday to Cousin Gitty’s Klony Kellner on November 20th! 

Happy Birthday to Chumie (Kramer) Jacobson on November 21st, who has now reached the age at which 

we no longer report ages! (But we might suggest that her much older husband, Yisrael Meir, take her out for 

a glass of wine to celebrate!) 

Happy Birthday to Faige (Krohn) Kramer on November 21st as well. And Chananya never needs an excuse 

to take his wife out and buy her a glass of wine.) 

Happy Birthday to honorary Kramer, practically IS a Kramer, Esti Tomaszewski on November 24th! 

Happy Birthday to Merry Berkowitz, in the Windy City, on November 24th! 


Salmon Loaf a la Bluma Leonard Trapp 

—a great change from Gefilte Fish! 

This recipe was modified from “The Kosher Palate” 

2 - 15 oz. cans of salmon, drained and flaked 

1 pint of pareve sour cream 

4 eggs, beaten 

2 Tablespoons lemon juice 

1 large can of crispy fried onion rings, crumbled—reserve 1/3 

2-3 tablespoons unflavored bread crumbs (for topping) 

Add all ingredients, except the bread crumbs, to drained, flaked salmon, reserving 1/3 

of the onion rings. 

Pour mixture into Pam-sprayed loaf pan. 

Sprinkle top with remaining crumbled onion rings, and the bread crumbs. 

Bake at 350 degrees, uncovered, for 30 minutes. 

Chill, slice and serve with a creamy horseradish sauce, 

—or better yet, with Bluma’s terrific Cucumber Dill Sauce 

Cucumber-Dill Sauce 

1 large cucumber, seeded, skinned and diced 

3/4 cup mayonnaise 

3 tablespoons finely chopped onions 

1/2 cup water 

1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dried dill (optional) 

Combine cucumber, mayo, onion and dill. 

gradually add the water until reaching desired consistency. 

Cover and chill. Enjoy! 


Kramer Korrection: 

Two weeks ago we wrote that O. R. Klony 

from Katamon shared Asian Spring Rolls 

with Mommy at Nessims- 

-we MEANT of course, La Gondola. 

Apologies to Chumie and YM for any 

mental anguish this inaccurate report 

may have caused... 

Fan Mail for Krispy Kramers! 

Gittie Ury writes in, just back from 

Israel: 

Shana, 

We got back at noon today. 

We are zonked, but I just wanted 

to let you know that I had to have 

Leeba check my Kol Kramer archives 

while we were Israel. 

Ayala wanted to make a Yabzek 

and I couldn’t remember the recipe, 

so Leeba read it to us over the 

phone early Friday morning our 

time in Yerushalayim. They really 

liked the results. 

Hope all is well on the home front. 

Gittie 

Dr. Irving Lebovics sent this 

photo in with the caption: 

“ONLY IN NEW YORK!”—> 

Letters to Kol Kramers 

Chananya’s pal and dedicated 

KOL KRAMERS fan 

Jeff Cohn sent this in: 

It’d be Chaval not to have KOL- 

KRAMERS recognize the Borei 

Olam showing off his Crayonics. 

Jackie Spivack in Efrat took these 

from his porch. 

Cousin Rivka in Haifa sent in this 

lovely “painted photo” she made of 

Cousin Kayla (Kellner) Pitter and her 

Sara Shaindel! Rivka offers to do likewise 

for you: 

“You can send the pictures (of the subject 

with a simple or natural backround). 

To my e-mail: 

RivkaKellner@hotmail.com” 

Chananya passed along this amazing link to film shot in Hungary in 1933 by CBS news. The Kallah in the wedding scene is the 

mother of Kayla and JJ’s Mesader Kedushin, and Joe Rabinowich’s first cousin, the Dinover Rebbe! 

“Here is a link to a nine minute video of Jewish life in Munkatch in March 1933, including footage of the wedding of the daughter 

of the Minchas Elazar. The Rebbe makes a short speech in Yiddish exhorting Jews in America to keep Shabbos. 

There is also the chuppah scene, and a juxtaposition of very secular Jewish life in Munkatch at the time.” 

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1622609518319953327&q=%22Jewish+Life+in+Munkatch+-+March+1933+-+complete+version%22+playable%3Atrue 

(if the link does not work initially by just clicking on it, hold down “control” while you click on the link.)

Kol Kramers II Issue 4.pub

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